Job Details

Research Director - UC Santa Barbara Central Coast Community Labor Center

Position Number: 6908252
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Position Type: Laboratory and Research

Research Director - UC Santa Barbara Central Coast Community Labor Center

University of California Santa Barbara

Position overview
Position title: Research Director - UC Santa Barbara Central Coast Community Center Salary range: A reasonable salary range estimate for this position is $103,419-$119,124. The posted UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and/or step at appointment. See the salary scale titled: Academic Coordinator Series-Fiscal Year for the salary range. Percent time: 100% Anticipated start: April 1, 2026 (or later) Position duration: 2 years Application Window

Open date: February 6, 2026

Next review date: Monday, Mar 16, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Monday, Mar 30, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The UCSB Community Labor Center invites applications for a Research Director. The initial appointment will be for two years, with potential for reappointment contingent on funding. The UCSB Community Labor Center, based on funding provided from the University of California Worker Rights Policy Initiative and other grants, seeks to strengthen and expand the labor movement through advanced research, education, and strategic partnerships with workers, labor, community, immigrant rights, and environmental justice organizations, policymakers, and philanthropic organizations on the Central Coast (San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties). Our major research projects currently include agriculture and farm workers, homecare, responsible offshore wind development (clean energy jobs), public sector workers as well as how the current political and policy environment is impacting Central Coast workers overall. In addition to research, we also offer education and training that is accessible to the communities we collaborate with and are building links for students to be engaged in the work of Central Coast labor unions and community-based organizations.
The addition of a Research Director to the Center's team will build our capacity for conducting engaged research, policy analysis, and community engagement that contributes to the empowerment and well-being of workers, their families, and their communities and that recognizes the diversity of the Central Coast economy and workforce, including its substantial immigrant and Indigenous communities. We work closely with the Central Coast Labor Council and its member organizations as well as other labor and community organizations working for economic, social, environmental, and intersectional justice. The UCSB Community Labor Center is actively connected with similar Labor Centers that exist across the entire UC system. We work together with these centers on issues of mutual and overlapping interests.
The Research Director will report directly to the UCSB Community Labor Center
Executive Director and Faculty Director and, as part of the core team, will oversee and administer the Center's research agenda and research projects. Shaping and Developing Center's Research Agenda Working with the UCSB Community Labor Center staff, its Advisory Committee, and Center-affiliated faculty members, the Research Director will play a key role in shaping, developing and managing the implementation of the Center's research agenda, policy analysis, and research-
related grant development. The Research Director will identify and develop new areas of research that are relevant and significant to unionized and non-unionized workers and working families on the Central Coast and to support our community and labor partners, as well as the broader labor movement in our region.
Additionally, the Research Director will be responsible for the following areas:

Supervising and mentoring graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and relevant staff (as applicable) involved in research, policy analysis, and/or research-related fundraising, and coordinating with faculty and off-campus partners who are engaged in programmatic research on behalf of or in partnership with the Center.

Planning, developing, and initiating strategies for generating resource and/or revenues to support the Center's research activities, including through fundraising, donor relations, and grant and contract proposals.

Overseeing the development and implementation of all aspects of the Center's research-related communications, including public research, policy and grant presentations and related web presence, social media presence, report reviews, and external relations.

Overseeing the development and implementation of events related to the design, implementation, and/or dissemination of the Center's research, policy analysis, and/or related contracts and grants.

Assisting, as needed, in the management of the Center's research budgets, contracts, and grants related to research and/or policy analysis.

Conducting timely research tasks as needed to ensure that programmatic research needs are met.

Providing technical assistance to stakeholders, policy makers, media, and internal Center staff on issues related to low-wage work, labor standards, occupational health and safety issues, and other labor and employment topics as well as on quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Overseeing the coordination and collaboration of program relevant research with academic researchers and experts external to UCSB.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

Master's degree required or higher in social science, humanities, public administration, public policy, urban planning, labor studies, or related fields.
Additional qualifications (required at time of start)

Minimum of two years of experience with increasing levels of responsibility in conducting and managing quantitative and/or qualitative research projects.

Preferred qualifications

Experience with strategic and community engaged research.

Training and/or familiarity with quantitative as well as qualitative research methodologies.

Excellent writing/communication skills, including familiarity with web-based and social media platforms.

Demonstrated knowledge of issues related to labor, working-class communities, and their needs.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Cover Letter
Statement of Research - This statement should be a one-two page summary of the candidate's research interests and experience.

Reference requirements

3-5 required (contact information only)

Once the search committee identifies the top candidates, their reference will be contacted by the committee chair. After the visits and reference checks are concluded, the Search Committee will come up with a top candidate to propose and recommend for hire.
Apply link: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF03018

Help contact: annemturley@ucsb.edu
About UC Santa Barbara

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination as defined by the employer.
UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, students and third parties
APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Additionally, you will be required to comply with the University of California Policy on Vaccination Programs, as may be amended or revised from time to time. Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.
Job location
Santa Barbara, California

To apply, please visit: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF03018